Donnelly

Two female employees brought this individual and class action, claiming that their employer had subjected them and other female employees to gender-based discrimination in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, as amended (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. Four male employees moved to intervene on behalf of themselves and all other employees not within the plaintiff class, either as of right (Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(a)(2)) or permissively (Fed.R.Civ.P. 24(b)(2)). The district court denied both motions. The proposed intervenors appeal. We affirm the former ruling and dismiss the appeal from the latter.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Prior Actions

1. Female Employees

This is the second Title VII action brought by female employees of the United States Forest Service (“Forest Service”) in Region 5. In 1973, a female employee sued on behalf of herself and similarly situated employees, claiming that the Forest Service in Region 5 had discriminated in making hiring and promotion decisions. The parties entered into a consent decree in 1979, which the district court approved in 1981. The terms of that decree were to remain in effect until 1986.

In 1986, the female…